The 7 HACCP Principles
By: Martine Epperson
Principle 1: Conduct a hazard analysis
- Identify potential hazards in the food served by looking at how it is processed
- Identify TCS food items and determine where hazards are likely to occur for each one; look for biological, chemical, and physical contaiments
Principle 2: Determine Critical Control points (CPPs)
- Find points in the process where identified hazards can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to safe levels - these are the CCPs
- Depending on the process, there may be more than one CCP
Principle 3: Establish critical limits
- For each CCP, establish minimum or maximum limits
- These limits must be met too
- Prevent or eliminate the hazard
- Reduce it to a safe level
Principle 4: Establish monitoring procedures
- Determine the best way to check critical limits
- Make sure they are consistently met
- identify who will monitor them and how often
Principle 5: Identify corrective actions
- Identify steps that must be taken when a critical limit is not met
- Determine these steps in advance
Principle 6: Verify that the system works
- Determine if the plan is working as intended
- Evaluate the plan on a regular basis using
- Monitoring charts
- Records
- Hazard analysis
- Determine if your plan prevents, reduces, or eliminates identified hazards
Principle 7: Establish Procedures for record keeping and documintation
Keep records for these actions:
- Monitoring activities
- Corrective actions
- Validating equipment ( checking for good working condition)
- Working with supplies ( invoices, specifications, etc...)